Tribal Communities at Risk: The Disproportionate Impacts of Oil and Gas Air Pollution on Tribal Air Quality

We analyzed population data and oil and gas facility information for three tribal groups on whose lands there is significant oil and gas production. We calculated how many Native Americans living on tribal lands live within a ½ mile of oil and gas facilities and compared this percent to the total population in encompassing the state(s) living within a ½ mile of oil and gas facilities. In all of the cases analyzed, tribal communities are more likely to live in the radius than the population as a whole and therefore are disproportionally impacted by oil and gas pollution. Tribal communities need strong safeguards to limit methane, toxic air pollution, and other pollutants that form ozone smog from the oil and gas industry and keep communities healthy.